Chapter 5: Kidnapped

Cindy arrived late at The Sicilian Gardens, but Toni Salvento told her the others hadn’t ordered yet when she waved Cindy around the waiting customers. They exchanged kisses and hugs before Cindy hurried to the small dining room upstairs. She had missed the Salventos’ cooking in California, not to mention being treated as a member of the family. She would have to come home for the summer next year. Working on Professor Norris’s project had been fun, but she wanted to spend a whole summer at home before having to take a job on the mainland. Professor Norris had offered to recommend her for a job at one of the companies near Stanford with which he worked. That would be essential to getting a job where she could pursue a graduate degree in bioengineering. Hopefully, they would even pay for her schooling. She still would need a way to stay close to her family and friends in Honolulu.

As she opened the door to the room, she found her friends watching Jon’s tablet. They didn’t notice her as she walked over to the table and looked at what they were watching.

Sarah, Ash, and an older man who looked like Ash’s father were taking a question from June Robson, the ABC reporter.

“Finding the Vans alive on a raft after all this time was extremely lucky, but I don’t think the Coast Guard and the others searching will find anyone else, though I expect after finding me yesterday and them today, they will redouble their efforts to make sure no one is missed. The Vans had a harder time than I did, so it may be a few days before they will be able to talk to the press. We are hoping to get to meet them in the next couple of days before we return to California.”

Cindy hadn’t heard about Ash’s rescue nor had she known she knew anyone on the United flight which had crashed. She had heard everyone aboard had died. This explained why her father had not been able to take time off today to spend time with her.

“How was Ash rescued?” Cindy asked.

Her friends turned around, and greetings were exchanged.

“She called her friend, who then called the Coast Guard.” Maria looked surprised. “Didn’t your dad tell you?”

“No, he worked all night and today. He will be home in a little while, so I won’t be able to go out with you after dinner.”

“It sounds like you know Ashley since you called her Ash.” Jon and Cindy had dated for a couple of years in high school but had never been serious.

“Ash and Sarah are in one of my martial arts classes. They are very good for a couple of teenage girls, though I have never understood why a couple of A-student cheerleaders were interested in martial arts.”

“This is from the A-student cheerleader who got her black belt at fourteen.” Jon laughed.

“Dad had us in Uncle Charlie’s classes since we were little. It was expected. Those two just decided they wanted to learn a year ago and talked their parents into it. They will be testing for their black belts in a couple of weeks.”

“That’s fast.” Jon and she had met at her Uncle Charlie’s when they were in junior high. He had not gotten his black belt until after he had graduated from high school.

“Yes, they are the two smartest people I’ve ever met. Not only don’t you have to show them something more than once, but often they already know it. I saw Sarah showing Ash a move I had never seen. When I asked Master Lee about it, he said it wasn’t useful and showed me an easy counter. I said that wasn’t how Sarah had done the move and showed him how she had done it. Master Lee and I went through Sarah’s move and the counter move over a dozen times. The counter didn’t work for it, and Master Lee couldn’t think of another counter for it. After their next class, Master Lee and I talked to them about the move. Sarah had said she had seen the move the way Master Lee did it in a movie and had seen the hero counter it with the counter move. She thought the move had been done wrong since the move the way she was doing it wouldn’t have been stopped by the counter. She figured they had done it to make the hero look good. For the last couple of months, Master Lee and I have had them in a special class. Master Lee has been trying to talk them into competing at the Golden Gate Chinese Martial Arts Championship in September, but it conflicts with a football game and a play practice at their high school.”

“I remember you having the same type of problems.” Linda had been on the cheerleader squad with her.

“That explains Sarah’s interview with Kaylani Mitchell yesterday. She took over, and Kaylani was left following along.” Jon was searching for something with his tablet. “Here is the interview.” He showed the interview from outside the hospital.

“I have never seen Sarah so intense. She and Ash are so at ease in class. Master Lee yelled at them once. Ash reminded him of his introduction speech to all new students about how they were supposed to learn how to flow effortlessly through the moves. She asked for his help to understand how to do it intensely. Master Lee stood there for a minute thinking, then he asked me to help him go twice through the moves we had been showing them. The first time he went through them as they had been doing them, and then he went through them just slightly different with a more intense focus, which I found hard to counter. When I looked at the two girls, they were standing there intensely thinking. Then they talked quietly together. After which, Ashley asked Master Lee to try the moves with her. She countered the move better than I had, and I could see the difference in her movements from what she had been doing before. We repeated the moves for the rest of the hour, and it was the three of them showing me how to do them effortlessly but intensely.”

“Did it make much of a difference?” Jon was very interested.

“I will be testing for my fourth-degree belt when I get back, and I will be competing in September.”

“You have never been into competitions.” Linda was surprised.

“I could do the moves, but I always felt like I was forcing them. Now I’ve learned how to do it effortlessly. I want to see how good I am.” Cindy shrugged. “Let’s get some dinner. I want to hear more about what you guys are doing. The five days I have been home haven’t let me catch up on what’s going on.”

Cindy was absorbed in watching the news interview she had missed as she walked the five blocks home. She had walked home hundreds of times from The Sicilian Gardens. Many of those were even before she had worked there in high school. She didn’t know she was in trouble until she felt the blow to the back of her head, or more correctly, a split second before it hit, which allowed her to relax and ride with the blow, though it did little to prevent her from being left unconscious.

Eddie Wong was tired. He had been up most of the last forty hours. He had taken naps but not a long rest like his boss, Fred Kolneski, had. One of the things he had heard about Fred’s meeting earlier had made him nervous about his daughter, Cynthia, not getting home when they expected her. At first, he had thought she had decided to go out with her friends as she had originally planned, but it wasn’t like her not to call. What Fred had said about white slavery had him worried for her. He didn’t mention it to Sally, but she could tell he wasn’t taking a child being late like he normally did. Finally, a little before eleven, he called The Sicilian Gardens. Helen Salvento answered. She checked with her daughter, Toni, who was the hostess that evening. Cindy had left hours ago. Somewhere around eight. He told her she had never arrived home. Helen told him she would contact her daughter, Maria, and check if Cindy had changed her mind and was with her friends.